Method of manufacturing transparent circuit substrate for touch screen

ABSTRACT

Provided is a method of manufacturing a transparent circuit substrate for a touch screen. The method may involve forming an electrode layer on a transparent substrate, stacking a light shielding layer on the transparent substrate such that the light shielding layer is located on an outside of the electrode layer, stacking a mask on the light shielding layer and the electrode layer, forming a conductive layer on the mask, forming connecting lines for connecting the electrode layer and connecting terminals by removing the mask and a portion of the conductive layer, and forming the connecting terminals on the light shielding layer such that the connecting terminals contact the connecting lines.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 13/410,485, filed Mar. 2, 2012, which claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. §119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0018830 filed onMar. 3, 2011, in the Korean Industrial Property Office, the entiredisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The following description relates generally to a touch screen, and moreparticularly to a method of manufacturing a transparent circuitsubstrate for a touch screen. The transparent circuit substrate mayinclude an electrode layer, and it may form a front surface of a touchscreen.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a touch screen refers to a device where an input detectionunit is integrated with a display unit. A touch screen may include, forexample, a display unit such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) alongwith a touch panel disposed on such a display unit.

When a finger tip of a user or another object contacts a letter or aspecific location displayed on such a touch screen, the touch screen maybe configured to recognize the location and receive an input of the userthrough a screen contact without the use of a mechanical keypad.

Such touch screens usually do not show high precision. However, they arewidely used as a guide display device in places generally used by thepublic, for example, as in public places such as subways, departmentstores, and banks. This is because it is simple to manipulate such touchscreens to input information. Further, touch screens are widely used insales terminals of various stores. In recent years, touch screens arealso widely used in portable terminals such as mobile phones, DMB(Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) receivers, and vehicle navigationsystems.

Some examples of touch screens (or touch panels) include a resistiveoverlay type touch screen, a capacitive overlay type touch screen, asurface acoustic wave type touch screen, and an infrared beam type touchscreen.

In a typical capacitive overlay type touch screen, the first and secondelectrode layers are usually formed on the first and second films,respectively. The first film is usually bonded to an upper glasssubstrate that forms a front surface of the touch screen. The secondfilm is usually bonded to a lower substrate. The first and secondelectrode layers are usually connected to a control unit via connectingterminals. The control unit may detect a change in the electrostaticcapacitance at a corresponding part of the touch panel in response to acontact by an input device such as a stylus pen, a finger, and the like.

However, since the conventional capacitive overlay type touch screenincludes a plurality of films, it usually has a large thickness with alow light transmission.

As a material having a high transmission is usually used as the filmsfor the touch screen, an entire light transmission from the touch screencannot be transmitted to the user. Rather, because the lighttransmission of each film is less than 100%, the light transmission ofthe touch screen is reduced as the number of the films inside the touchscreen increases.

Since a conventional capacitive overlay type touch screen typicallyincludes a plurality of films, the touch screen usually has a largethickness and a low light transmission. The low light transmissiondegrades the visibility of the screen, and it is also difficult toreduce the overall thickness of a product containing such a touchscreen.

SUMMARY

In one general aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing atransparent circuit substrate for a touch screen. The method may involveforming an electrode layer on a transparent substrate, stacking a lightshielding layer on the transparent substrate such that the lightshielding layer is located on an outside of the electrode layer,stacking a mask on the light shielding layer and the electrode layer,forming a conductive layer on the mask, forming connecting lines forconnecting the electrode layer and connecting terminals by removing themask and a portion of the conductive layer, and forming the connectingterminals on the light shielding layer such that the connectingterminals contact the connecting lines.

The electrode layer may be formed on the transparent substrate byforming a layer of a conductive material on an entire upper surface ofthe transparent substrate, and forming the electrode layer having apreset pattern by partially etching the conductive material.

In addition, the mask may be stacked in a region other than regionswhere the electrode layer and the connecting terminals are connected toeach other. The mask may be formed with a peelable ink that may beremoved by peeling or with a bonding tape that is removed by detaching.

Each of the connecting lines may be formed as to extend from theelectrode layer formed on an upper surface of the transparent substrateto at least one of the connecting terminals formed on an upper surfaceof the light shielding layer.

The electrode layer may be formed on the transparent substrate via adeposition process. Suitable materials for forming the electrode layerincludes indium tin oxide, PEDOT and the like.

In another aspect, a method of producing a touch screen is provided. Themethod may involve bonding a transparent circuit substrate with adisplay unit. The transparent circuit substrate may have a transparentsubstrate, an upper electrode layer, a first bonding member, a lowerelectrode layer, and a film, stacked in that order.

The upper surface of the transparent substrate may be exposed to anoutside. Upper connecting lines for connecting the upper electrode layerand upper connecting terminals may be formed on the transparentsubstrate, and lower connecting lines for connecting the lower electrodelayer and lower connecting terminals may be formed on the film.

The upper electrode layer may be formed on the transparent substrate byforming a layer of a conductive material on an entire upper surface ofthe transparent substrate, and forming the upper electrode layer havinga preset pattern by partially etching the conductive material.

An upper light shielding layer may be formed on the transparentsubstrate such that the upper light shielding layer is located on aperiphery of the transparent substrate with respect to the upperelectrode layer. Each of the upper connecting lines may extend from theupper electrode layer formed on a lower surface of the transparentsubstrate to at least one of the upper connecting terminals formed on alower surface of the upper light shielding layer.

The upper electrode layer may be formed on the transparent substrate viaa deposition process. The upper electrode layer and the lower electrodelayer may comprise indium tin oxide or PEDOT.

In yet another aspect, a display device is provided. The display devicemay include a transparent substrate, an upper electrode layer, a firstbonding member, a lower electrode layer, and a film, stacked in thatorder.

At least a portion of the upper surface of the transparent substrate maybe configured to be exposed to an outside. Upper connecting lines forconnecting the upper electrode layer and upper connecting terminals maybe formed on the transparent substrate. Lower connecting lines forconnecting the upper electrode layer and lower connecting terminals maybe formed on the film.

The display device may further include a display unit. The display unitmay be bonded to the film via a second bonding member.

An upper light shielding layer may be formed on the transparentsubstrate such that the upper light shielding layer is located on aperiphery of the transparent substrate with respect to the upperelectrode layer. Each of the upper connecting lines may extend from theupper electrode layer formed on a lower surface of the transparentsubstrate to at least one of the upper connecting terminals formed on anupper surface of the upper light shielding layer.

The upper electrode layer may be formed on the transparent substrate viaa deposition process. The upper electrode layer and the lower electrodelayer may be formed with indium tin oxide or PEDOT.

Other features and aspects may be apparent from the following detaileddescription, the drawings and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method ofmanufacturing a transparent circuit substrate for a touch screen.

FIGS. 2 to 8 are views illustrating detailed steps of an example of amethod of manufacturing a transparent circuit substrate.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an example of a touch screen.

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating examples of upper and lower electrodelayers in a touch screen.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining an example of a principle of forming anelectrostatic capacitance with first and second electrode layers in atouch screen.

Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwisedescribed, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood torefer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative sizeand depiction of these elements may be exaggerated for clarity,illustration, and convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is provided to assist the reader ingaining a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatuses,and/or systems described herein. Accordingly, various changes,modifications, and equivalents of the systems, apparatuses and/ormethods described herein will be suggested to those of ordinary skill inthe art. Also, descriptions of well-known functions and constructionsmay be omitted for increased clarity and conciseness.

Hereinafter, examples of methods of manufacturing a transparent circuitsubstrate for a touch panel are described. In addition, touch screens towhich such a transparent circuit substrate for a touch panel is appliedare described.

It is noted that in a typical capacitive overlay type touch screen, anelectrode layer is typically formed on a film, and the film is bonded toa glass substrate. In a transparent circuit substrate for a touchscreen, however, an electrode layer may be directly formed on a glasssubstrate.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a method of manufacturing a transparentcircuit substrate for a touch screen, and FIGS. 2 to 8 illustrate thedetailed steps of an example of a method of manufacturing a transparentcircuit substrate.

The method of manufacturing a transparent circuit substrate for a touchscreen may include a step S10 of forming a first conductive layer, astep S20 of forming an electrode layer, a step S30 of stacking a lightshielding layer, a step S40 of stacking a mask, a step S50 of forming asecond conductive layer, a step S60 of forming connecting lines, and astep S70 of forming connecting terminals.

Referring to FIG. 2, in the step S10 of forming a first conductivelayer, a first conductive layer 20 may be stacked on an entire uppersurface of a transparent substrate 10. The lower surface of thetransparent substrate 10 may form at least a portion of a front surfaceof the touch screen exposed to the outside. The transparent substrate 10may be formed of an insulating material that is transparent to visiblelight. Examples of such insulating materials include glass, polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), and the like. The firstconductive layer 20 may be formed of a conductive material which istransparent to visible light; examples of such conductive materialsinclude indium tin oxide (ITO), PEDOT(poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)), and the like. The first conductivelayer 20 may be formed by a deposition process such as electronic beamdeposition and sputtering. Examples of such a sputtering process includePVD (Physical Vapor Deposition), CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), PECVD(Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition), and the like.

Referring to FIG. 3, in the step S20 of forming an electrode layer, anelectrode layer 20 a having a preset pattern may be formed by partially(or selectively) etching the first conductive layer 20 that is formed onthe transparent substrate 10.

The electrode layer 20 a may be formed through a photolithographyprocess. In the photolithography process, a photoresist layer having auniform thickness may be stacked on the entire upper surface of thefirst conductive layer through a spin process. The photoresist may behardened by partially (or selectively) irradiating the photoresist layerwith ultraviolet rays. A photoresist mask having a plurality of slitsmay be formed by removing an unhardened portion of the photoresist layerusing an etching solution. The electrode layer 20 a may be formed byetching the first conductive layer 20 exposed through the slits of thephotoresist mask.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the step S30 of stacking a light shieldinglayer, a light shielding layer 30 may be stacked on an upper surface ofthe transparent substrate 10 such that the light shielding layer 30 islocated on the outside of the electrode layer 20 a. Since a lowersurface of the transparent substrate 10 may be exposed to the outside,the light shielding layer 30 for shielding visible light may be stackedat a periphery of the upper surface of the transparent substrate 10 toprevent an outer periphery of a central part included in an effectivedisplay region from being displayed to an observer. The light shieldinglayer 30 may be formed through a process such as black ink printing.

Referring to FIG. 5, in the step S40 of stacking a mask, a mask 40 maybe stacked on the light shielding layer 30 and the electrode layer 20 a.In order to form connecting lines, the mask 40 may be stacked such thata mask central part 42 located in an effective display region and a sideend of the light shielding layer 30 are spaced apart from each other.That is, the mask 40 may be stacked at a portion other than a regionwhere the electrode layer 20 a and the connecting terminal (see FIG. 8)are connected to each other.

Meanwhile, although it is illustrated that a part of the electrode layer20 a is located within a space where the connecting lines are to beformed in this example, a portion of the electrode layer 20 a may notexist within the space where the connecting lines are to be formed underthe condition where the connecting lines are connected to the electrodelayer 20 a. A transparent circuit substrate having such connecting linesare a part of the present disclosure.

The mask 40 may be formed by printing a plating preventing peelable inkthat can be easily removed by peeling without a separate separationprocess, or through a process of attaching a bonding tape that mayremoved by detaching the bonding tape.

When the peelable ink is used, after being printed in a liquid state,the peelable ink is dried and hardened. The hardened peelable ink may bepeeled and removed after the step S50 of forming a second conductivelayer and the step S60 of forming connecting lines.

When the bonding tape is used, the bonding tape may be detached andremoved after the step S50 of forming a second conductive layer and thestep S60 of forming connecting lines.

A mask peripheral part 44 may be stacked on a portion of the uppersurface of the light shielding layer 30 such that the connecting linesextend to the upper surface of the light shielding layer 30. That is, aninner portion of the upper surface of the light shielding layer 30 maybe exposed to the outside.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the step S50 of forming a second conductivelayer, a second conductive layer 50 may be stacked on the upper surfaceof the mask 40 and in a space between the mask central part 42 and themask peripheral part 44. That is, the second conductive layer 50 may bestacked so as to completely surround an entire outer surface of the maskcentral part 42 and an outer surface other than one side surface of themask peripheral part 44.

Referring to FIG. 7, in the step S60 of forming connecting lines,connecting lines 50 a for connecting the electrode layer 20 a and theconnecting terminals may be formed by removing the mask 40 and a portionof the second conductive layer 50. The connecting lines 50 a connectedto the electrode layer 20 a may extend from the upper surface of thetransparent substrate 10 to the upper surface of the light shieldinglayer 30.

Referring to FIG. 8, in the step S70 of forming connecting terminals,connecting terminals 60 may be stacked on the exposed upper surface ofthe light shielding layer 30 and some portions of the upper surfaces ofthe connecting lines 50 a so as to contact the connecting lines 50 a.The connecting terminals 60 may be configured to apply electricalcurrents to the electrode layer 20 a. In addition, providing theconnecting terminals 60 on the outside of the electrode layer 20 a alongthe periphery of the transparent substrate 10 may make it easy to accessthe connecting terminals 60 from an outside of the transparent circuitsubstrate. The connecting terminals 60 may be formed of a same materialas the electrode layer 20 a or may be formed of another material. Forexample, the connecting terminals 60 may be formed of an opaqueconductive material such as silver, a transparent conductive ink, andthe like.

In the above-mentioned example of a method of manufacturing atransparent circuit substrate for a touch screen, since the lightshielding layer 30 is formed after the electrode layer 20 a is formed,it is possible to prevent the degradation of quality of the electrodelayer 20 a due to an outgas from the light shielding layer 30. Inaddition, an increase in a surface resistance of the electrode layer 20a, a degradation of a light transmission, and a degradation ofvisibility due to a change in chrominance that may be caused by theformation of the light shielding layer 30 can also be prevented.

Further, since the connecting lines 50 a are formed with the mask 40being stacked on the light shielding layer 30 according to the method,the light shielding layer 30 may be prevented from being damaged ordiscolored due to the heat that may be generated during a depositionprocess.

Hereinafter, an example of a touch screen to which the transparentcircuit substrate may be applied is described in detail. It is notedthat the transparent circuit substrate, and the method of manufacturingthe same, may be applied to various touch screens. The touch screendescribed below is simply an example of the various touch screens thatmay be used with such a transparent circuit substrate.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a touch screen formed with atransparent circuit substrate. FIG. 10 illustrates examples of upper andlower electrode layers of a transparent circuit substrate. It is notedthat since the transparent circuit substrate 1 may be applied in anoverturned state to the touch screen 100 as illustrated in FIG. 9, theupper and lower sides (including upper and lower portions) areclassified according to the shown configuration. Further, a repeateddescription of the transparent circuit substrate 1 will be omitted.

The touch screen 100 may include a display unit 110, a film 130, atransparent circuit substrate 1 having a transparent substrate 10 and anupper electrode layer 20 a, a lower electrode layer 140, and first andsecond bonding members 120 and 125.

The display unit 110 may include a plurality of pixels, and may displayan image through the pixels. Although only a portion, such as thecentral part, of an upper surface of the display unit 110 may beincluded in an effective display region of the touch screen 100displayed to an observer, the entire upper surface of the display unit110 may be included in an effective display region, as in theillustrated example. Examples of the display unit 110 include a liquidcrystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), and thelike.

The liquid crystal display may display an image under the control of acontrol unit (not shown). Such a liquid crystal display may include aliquid crystal panel including a liquid crystal layer in order todisplay an image, as well as a backlight unit (BLU) for providing lightto the liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal panel may include upperand lower glass substrates that are disposed on and under the layer ofliquid crystal. Such a lower glass substrate may include thin filmtransistors and pixel electrodes, and the upper glass substrate mayinclude a common electrode. The liquid crystal panel may further includeupper and lower polarization plates disposed on and under the liquidcrystal panel to linearly polarize the input light respectively. Tepolarization directions of the upper and lower polarization plates maybe perpendicular to each other.

The film 130 may be disposed on the display unit 110 and may include alower electrode layer 140 that is stacked on an upper end (i.e. an uppersurface) thereof. The areas occupied by the upper and lower electrodelayers 20 a and 140 respectively may coincide with the area of theeffective display region. The film 130 may be formed of an insulatingmaterial that is transparent to visible light. Examples of suitableinsulating materials include polyethylene terephthalate (PET),polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyphenylenesulfide (PPS), polyethersulfone (PES), and the like.

The film 130 may be attached to the display unit 110 by, for example, abonding process using a first bonding member 120. That is, a portion ofa lower end (i.e. a lower surface) of the film 130 may be attached tothe entire upper end (i.e. the entire upper surface) of the display unit110 by using the first bonding member 120. One or both of the first andsecond bonding members 120 and 125 may be formed of an insulatingmaterial that is transparent to visible light. The bonding members 120and 125 may include an optical clear adhesive tape (OCA tape), anadhesive (or adhering material), and an ultraviolet ray hardening resinwhich are transparent to visible light. The OCA tape may bedouble-sided, and may be formed of a material such as acryl, silicon,and the like.

Referring to FIG. 10, the lower electrode layer 140 may include aplurality of lower electrode lines (or line electrodes) stacked on theupper surface 132 of the film 130. In addition, the lower electrodelayer 140 may extend along a first direction, for example, the x-axis orhorizontal direction. The lower electrode lines 142 may be disposed atregular or irregular directions along a second direction. For example,the lower electrode lines 142 may extend along the y-axis or verticaldirection, crossing the first direction and perpendicular to the firstdirection. The line widths of the lower electrode lines 142 and theintervals between the lower electrode lines 142 may be arbitrarily set,and the interval between the lower electrode lines 142 may be set to 4mm, for example. The upper electrode layer 20 a may be formed in thesame fashion as the lower electrode layer 140.

Referring back to FIG. 1, together with the upper connecting terminals60, the lower connecting terminals 154 for applying currents to theupper and lower electrode layers 20 a and 140 may be stacked on an uppersurface of the film 130 so as to be located on the outside of the lowerelectrode layer 140. That is, the lower connecting terminals 154 may bedisposed on the outside of the lower electrode layer 140, i.e. at theperiphery of the film 130, to make it easy to access the lowerconnecting terminals 154 from an outside of the transparent circuitsubstrate. Then, the central part of the film 130 may be included in theeffective display region of the touch screen 100, and the periphery ofthe film 130 may be set to correspond to a region located on the outsideof the effective display region, i.e. a region excluding the centralpart.

The lower connecting terminals 154 may be electrically connected to thelower electrode layer 140 through the lower connecting lines 152. Thelower light shielding layer 150, the lower connecting lines 152, and thelower connecting terminals 154 may be formed in the same fashion as theupper light shielding layer 30, the upper connecting lines 50 a, and theupper connecting terminals 60, respectively.

Meanwhile, although it has been described above that the film 130includes the lower light shielding layer 150 to show that the method ofmanufacturing a transparent circuit substrate 1 for a touch screen canbe applied to the film 130 in the above example, the lower lightshielding layer 150 may be removed in other examples. Such examples area part of the present application.

In such a case, the lower electrode layer 140, the lower connectinglines 152, and the lower connecting terminals 154 may be sequentiallyformed in a fashion similar to the above-mentioned method. The lowerconnecting terminals 154 and the connecting lines 152 may be formedtogether with the lower electrode layer 140 in a single process, or maybe formed through separate processes. The lower connecting terminals 154may be formed of the same material as that of the lower electrode layer140, or may be formed of another material such as an opaque conductivematerial like silver. The upper and lower connecting terminals 60 and154 may be electrically connected, for example, to a connector of aflexible printed circuit board (FPCB) to which a control unit or thelike are mounted.

The transparent substrate 10 may include an upper electrode layer 20 adisposed on the film 130 and stacked on a lower surface thereof. Theupper surface of the transparent substrate 10 may form at least aportion of the front surface of the touch screen 100 exposed to theoutside.

Since the upper surface of the transparent substrate 10 may be exposedto the outside, an upper light shielding layer 30 for shielding visiblelight may be stacked at a periphery 14 of the lower surface of thetransparent substrate 10 to prevent a peripheral portion of the outsideof a central part included in the effective display region from beingviewed from the outside.

The transparent substrate 10 may be attached (i.e. bonded) to the film130 by using a second bonding member 125. That is, a lower end of thetransparent substrate 10 may be attached to an upper end of the film 130by using the second bonding member 125. Then, only the upper and lowerelectrode layer 20 a and 140 may be attached to each other by using thesecond bonding member 125.

Referring to FIG. 10, the upper electrode layer 20 a may include aplurality of upper electrode lines (or line electrodes) 22 a stacked onthe lower surface 12 of the transparent substrate 10 and disposed at aregular interval or irregular intervals along the second direction. Eachupper electrode line 22 a may extend along the first direction crossingthe second direction perpendicular to the second direction. The linewidths of the upper electrode lines 22 a and the intervals between theupper electrode lines 22 a may be arbitrarily set, and the intervalbetween the upper electrode lines 22 a may be set to 4 mm.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a principle that may be used to form anelectrostatic capacitance with upper and lower electrode layers 22 a and140. FIG. 11 illustrates a plan view and a partially sectional view ofthe upper and lower electrode layers 22 a and 140 attached to each otherby the second bonding member 125.

The second binding member 125 interposed between the upper and lowerelectrode layers 22 a and 140 may serve as an insulating body, and anelectrostatic capacitance may be generated by applying currents to theupper and lower electrode layers 22 a and 140. A touch sensitivity ofthe touch screen 100 may be regulated by regulating a thickness of thesecond bonding member 125.

The above described methods of manufacturing a transparent circuitsubstrate for a touch screen can prevent a degradation of a quality ofthe electrode layer due to an outgas of the light shielding layer.Accordingly, it is possible to prevent an increase in a surfaceresistance of the electrode layer, a degradation of a lighttransmission, and a degradation of visibility due to a change inchrominance

Further, according to the described methods, since the connecting linesmay be formed with the mask being stacked on the light shielding layer,the light shielding layer can be prevented from being damaged ordiscolored due to the heat generated in a deposition process.

An aspect of the above described examples of manufacturing methods forproducing transparent circuit substrates is that it is possible toprovide a transparent circuit substrate for a touch screen that iscapable of enhancing the visibility of the screen and making the productslim due to the small thickness and high light transmission of thetransparent circuit substrates.

Another aspect of the above mentioned examples is to provide a method ofmanufacturing a transparent circuit substrate for a touch screen whichcan prevent the degradation of the quality of the electrode layer due toan outgas of the light shielding layer. Thus, it is possible to preventthe increase of the surface resistance of the electrode layer, thedegradation of the light transmission by the touch screen, and thedegradation of visibility due to a change in chrominance

In addition, in the touch screen to which the above describedtransparent circuit substrate is applied, since the upper electrodelayer stacked on the transparent substrate and the lower electrode layerstacked on the film are attached to each other, the touch screen canrealize a small thickness thereof, a high light transmission, a highvisibility of a screen, and a slimness of the overall product.

It is understood that the features of the present disclosure may beembodied in different forms and should not be constructed as limited tothe examples set forth herein. Rather, the examples are provided so thatthis disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will convey the fullscope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Thedrawings may not be necessarily drawn to scale, and, in some instances,proportions may have been exaggerated in order to clearly illustratefeatures of the examples.

In addition, when a first layer is referred to as being “on” a secondlayer or “on” a substrate, it may not only refer to a case where thefirst layer is formed directly on the second layer or the substrate butmay also refer to a case where a third layer exists between the firstlayer and the second layer or the substrate.

A number of examples have been described above. Nevertheless, it will beunderstood that various modifications may be made. For example, suitableresults may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in adifferent order and/or if components or steps in a describedarchitecture, device or method are combined in a different manner and/orreplaced or supplemented by other components, steps or theirequivalents. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a transparent substrateto cover a display unit, the display unit operatively coupled with theapparatus; an electrode layer directly disposed on the transparentsubstrate; a light shielding layer disposed over the transparentsubstrate; and a conductive line disposed over at least a portion of theelectrode layer and at least a portion of the light shielding layer. 2.The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a connecting terminaldisposed over the light shielding layer, the connecting terminalelectrically coupled with the electrode layer via the conductive line .3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the connecting terminal is disposedover at least a portion of the conductive line.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising: another electrode layer disposed over thetransparent substrate, the other electrode layer separated from theelectrode layer via an insulating layer disposed over the transparentsubstrate.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein at least one of theelectrode layer or the other electrode layer is configured to form apart of a signal path to detect a touch.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4,further comprising: another conductive line disposed over at least aportion of the other electrode layer.
 7. The apparatus of claim 4,wherein the other electrode layer is directly disposed on thetransparent substrate.
 8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the otherelectrode layer is bonded to the display via another insulating layerdisposed over the display.
 9. The apparatus of claim 4, furthercomprising: a film disposed between the other electrode layer and thedisplay.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: another lightshielding layer disposed over the film.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the light shielding layer is directly disposed on at least aportion of the electrode layer.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe transparent substrate, the electrode layer, the light shieldinglayer, and the conductive line are disposed in order.
 13. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the light shielding layer is located on at least aportion of a periphery of the transparent substrate.
 14. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the electrode layer is at least partially composedof a conductive material and the conductive line is at least partiallycomposed of the conductive material.
 15. An apparatus comprising: acontrol unit; a display unit; and a touch panel operatively coupled withthe display unit, the touch panel including: an electrode layer and alight shielding layer disposed over the display unit; and a conductiveline disposed over at least a portion of the electrode layer and atleast a portion of the light shielding layer, the conductive lineforming a part of a signal path between the electrode layer and thecontrol unit.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the electrode layeris directly disposed on a transparent substrate.
 17. A method ofmanufacturing an apparatus, the method comprising: forming an electrodelayer on a transparent substrate, the transparent substrate to cover atleast one portion of a display unit; disposing a light shielding layeron the transparent substrate; disposing a mask over the transparentsubstrate, the mask including a pattern to expose at least one portionof the electrode layer and at least one portion of the light shieldinglayer; forming a conductive layer on the mask; and removing the masksuch that a first portion of the conductive layer corresponding to theat least one portion of the electrode layer and a second portion of theconductive layer corresponding to the at least one portion of the lightshielding layer form at least a portion of a conductive line.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, further comprising: forming a connecting terminal onat least one portion of the conductive line, the connecting terminal totransmit a signal to the electrode layer via the conductive line. 19.The method of claim 17, further comprising: forming an insulating layerover the transparent substrate; and forming another electrode layer overthe transparent substrate such that the other electrode layer isseparated from the electrode layer via the insulating layer.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising: bonding the other electrodelayer to the display unit via another insulating layer disposed over thedisplay unit.